American Muslims call al-Arian Imprisonment 'Double Jeopardy'

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National Islamic coalition seeks end to 'harassment' of Florida professor

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/29/07) – The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a national coalition of major American Muslim organizations, today said the new prison sentence given to former Florida professor Sami Al-Arian amounted to unconstitutional "double jeopardy."
Al-Arian recently began a hunger strike after being given a sentence of up to 18 months for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia . He and his attorney say an early plea agreement freed him from further cooperation with the government. Al-Arian's supporters say he is being held in a rat and cockroach-infested prison and is being forced to wear dirty and inadequate clothing as a form of harassment.

In 2005, a Florida jury rejected federal charges that Al-Arian operated
a cell for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian later pleaded guilty
to a lesser charge and was scheduled for release and deportation in
April.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the government is seeking to
impose legal and physical penalties on Dr. Al-Arian that it could not
obtain through the judicial process. The government's actions amount to
an unconstitutional 'double jeopardy' situation in which a person who
was cleared of all charges by a jury of his peers is nonetheless being
imprisoned in harsh conditions through administrative means.

"We call on all fair-minded Americans who care about the preservation
of the integrity of our nation's legal system to speak out about this
apparent abuse of prosecutorial power. We also call on federal
authorities to cease their harassment of Dr. Al-Arian and to release
him as scheduled so that he and his family can resume their lives in
another country."

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AMT members endorsing this statement include: American Muslim Alliance
(AMA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of
North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim
American Society (MAS), Muslim Student Association- National (MSA-N),
Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), Project Islamic Hope (PIH), and
United Muslims of America (UMA)